DoorDash is buying Instacart for $17 billion. Its employees can’t add Instacart staff on LinkedIn

DoorDash agreed to acquire Instacart for $17 billion, a deal disclosed in SEC filings that also reveal an unusual internal directive: DoorDash employees have been told not to connect with Instacart staff on LinkedIn until the transaction closes. That closing could stretch to mid-2028, and the company said the social-distance rule is meant to reduce antitrust risk by keeping the two workforces visibly separate during regulatory review. The deal would combine two of the largest U.S. on-demand delivery platforms, pairing DoorDash's restaurant and retail delivery network with Instacart's grocery marketplace. The extended timeline signals expectations of a lengthy antitrust review, and the LinkedIn guidance underscores how closely regulators scrutinize communications between merging firms. What to watch next is whether regulators challenge the deal and whether the mid-2028 closing target holds.